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Nov 22 Jeff Sessions, Pro-Business Attorney General

This past week, President-Elect Donald Trump named Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Jeff Sessions, the junior senator in Alabama for almost 20 years, is one of the most pro-business senators we have ever had. Sessions has a 100% rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce, showing evidence of his pro-business record. He also has a 14% rating from the USFW, indicating a pro management voting record. He is a strong, conservative voice for the Trump administration and a strong voice for small businesses.

According to Business Insider, “‘It is an honor to nominate US Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as Attorney General of the United States,’ Trump said in a statement. ‘Jeff has been a highly respected member of the US Senate for 20 years. He is a world-class legal mind and considered a truly great Attorney General and U.S. Attorney in the state of Alabama. Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him.’”

Sessions, a former prosecutor, will be tough on corporate crime with his no-nonsense record. He has voted to increase punishments for drug charges and for corporate malfeasance, making him an excellent candidate for Attorney General. As a lawmaker, he has consistently indicted companies and individuals for white-collar crime on a larger scale. His voting record in the senate indicates that he will push for corporate indictments without settling for fines and will focus on putting more criminal executives behind bars. According to NewsMax, “For example, during a 2010 confirmation hearing for James Cole, Sessions questioned the former U.S. deputy attorney general about the ‘dangerous’ philosophy of not charging companies criminally because of concerns that doing so could lead to bankruptcy and hurt employees and shareholders. ‘Normally, I was taught if they violated a law, you charge them. If they didn't violate the law, you don't charge them,’ Sessions said during the hearing.”

This sentiment of “charges if you violate the law, no charges if not” seems to be one that many Americans will appreciate in the upcoming administration, especially due to the current happenings, for example, Hillary Clinton and her emails. Americans want corporate and government leadership to be held to the same standards as everyday people, and Jeff Sessions will do that. People that supported Bernie Sanders have these similar feelings of uncertainty with corporate leadership and the won't for indictments at all levels, and these supporters were obviously fed up with the broken system after we didn’t see an indictment of Hillary Clinton with her email scandal. Despite not agreeing on many policy-related issues, this could be a good common ground among these groups. The place where these Bernie supporters and Jeff Sessions will differ is the degree of the punishment with the charge. Jeff Sessions has voted to increase the punishments for drug charges, while liberal supporters of Bernie Sanders would most likely be for decriminalization. Sessions also showed opposition to a bill showing sentence-leniency for nonviolent offenders. Jeff Sessions will work to increase these charges, especially for corporate malfeasance cases, although the increase of the charges could be the division between Sessions and Bernie supporters. As NewsMax reported, “Corporate crime ‘is not easy to prosecute or investigate. They have the best lawyers that you can find, and they utilize all the legitimate tools that they have,’ Sessions said. ‘And you have to be strong... a prosecutor cannot be a weak-kneed person going up against a major corporation in a fraud case.’”

Sessions have a strong pro-business, no nonsense voting record, and he will be a strong leader as Attorney General. His 100% rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce and his 14% rating from USFW, show he is pro-business and pro-management. His ideas of committing a crime and indictments that should follow will appeal to Bernie supporters on a corporate malfeasance level, but Sessions has voted to increase sentences in drug and corporate cases, which Bernie supporters may not agree with. He has served as a good prosecutor in Alabama and in the Senate for the last 20 years, and his experience will translate well into his position as Attorney General. Sessions is a strong voice for upholding the law, and this will be seen in his work for the upcoming administration.